We Really Were Crazy Back Then
by kathmolko
Summary: It's the follow up to I Want to Live MY Own Life...set a fair fews years after, mind you. Jessi and James are 15, and they decide to leave the biker gang.
1. Default Chapter Title

WE REALLY WERE CRAZY BACK THEN  
  
  
  
DISCLAIMER- I do not own any pokemon characters!  
  
  
Jessi and James have decided to leave the Sunnytown Bridge biker gang- but where can they go? Celadon City of course- but they're flat broke. Once they manage to get the cash, feelings are for each other are mixed. Now they're involved in a life threatening crash. Could it be too late for James to tell Jessi how he feels about her?  
  
STORY 2, part 1  
WE REALLY WERE CRAZY BACK THEN  
James looked at Jessi nervously. This was not how he had ever imagined his life to be. Tyrone shot him a curious and worried look. Chopper frowned. Jessi summoned up the courage to speak.  
" Tyrone, Chopper- I'm guessing you know why we are here?"   
Tyrone and Chopper exchanged a look saying they knew only to well why Jessi and James had so urgently requested this meeting.  
" It was the hardest decision I've- we've had to make" James babbled, making it fairly obvious he had had much harder decisions in life.  
" We understand that we all need to move on" Chopper spouted  
" But Jess, Jim- you have become the heart and soul of the gang" Tyrone cried.   
James smiled wryly at the terms of endearment his bike gang friends had given them. Lil Jim- the only biker with trainer wheels and Big Jess- the chain wielding wild child.   
"We will return. One day. I promise..." Jessi's voice trailed off.   
With nothing left to say Jessi and James embraced the friends that in such a short time had proven to be the best friends anyone could ever hope for.   
Jessi and James waved goodbye as they cycled away from the their companions._ This is it_, thought James, _only five years after running_ _off that first time he and Jessi were leaving again- after all they were fifteen now. They had to go out into the world and experience new_ _things. At least,_ James thought, _last time I knew we were going to Sunnytown to join a biker gang- this time I have no idea of the future, only_ _that I will be spending it with Jessi, Not,_ he thought smiling, _that that is such a bad thing_.   
Jessi turned and spoke to him as soon as the biker gang was out of sight. "I know a place called Celadon City. It's relatively small at he moment-but a good place to stay for a while"  
"Would we be able to land jobs there?" James enquired  
"Sure. The place is on..." she took her hands off the handlebar to motion the direction 'up' "It's on the way up. It can't be too hard for a couple of teenagers to get a part time job there"  
"Cool" James said, then he looked over at her "How will we get there?"   
This seemed to shock Jessi. She shrugged and grinned. "How much cash have you got?".   
James blushed. He knew he should have grabbed his parents' credit card or something like that on his way out. "Well to be perfectly honest..."   
Jessi whipped around her head dangerously. "Great. We're flat broke. It costs $8000 or something like that for two fearow flights from the next town to Celadon"   
Suddenly an idea popped into James's head. He would not under any normal circumstances had thought of this, but Jessi seemed to bring out the crazy side in everyone. "Is there a bank in the next town?"  
"Uh-huh. Why?".   
James grinned wickedly. Jessi caught on and nodded slowly, a smile spreading across her slender face. "You're bad James, real bad"  
  
The bank cashier eyes drilled holes into James's head as he made out the withdrawal slip for $50,000 from his parents' account. He finished with his fathers' signature and looked up smiling as he handed the slip to the skeptical clerk. The cashier raised his eyebrows and with a last look at James, strode away to collect the cash. James breathed a quiet sigh of relief. He leaned so close to Jessi he only had to breathe deeply to touch her and whispered "One more second under that cashier's laser intensity stare and I would have broken down and confessed" Jessi was taken aback by his invasion of her personal space but also pleasantly surprised. She rose up and whispered in James's ear "Just as well you didn't"   
She felt strange being that close to James. The cashier returned to his counter, startling Jessi so much that she jumped back. He gave her a long hard look and placed the bundle of notes into James's outstretched hand. Jessi and James rushed to get out the bank as fast as they could, trying rather unsuccessfully to look inconspicuous.  
Jessi breathed a huge sigh of relief as they stepped outside and mounted their bikes and she started to giggle. James looked at her in a confused and hurt way. _Oh no_, she thought, _he thinks I'm laughing at him for getting so close to me_. She couldn't think of a way to say she didn't mind it. "The airport is the last thing along this road- on the right side"  
Jessi sensed the uneasiness between them as they crossed over the road and headed straight ahead. She could feel an unsettling feeling hanging over their heads. _What_, she asked herself, _happened in the bank? Surely it can't be so important?_ Doubt filled her mind. She hated having anybody at all close to her. Why didn't she care when James stood so near her? _What is happening to me?_ She wondered silently. James's voice cut through her thoughts "We're here"   
  
The airport wasn't as flashy as James had pictured- just a few pidgeots and fearows scattering a runway. "What should we do with the bikes?" he asked, feeling foolish for overlooking the question before.   
"Just dump 'em" Jessi said bluntly.   
He couldn't bare the thought of dumping his bike. It was like a release valve for him, it was his escape route, that bike was the second best friend he'd ever had. Doesn't Jessi have any feelings? How could she just dump that bike? Didn't she feel attached to it? _Obviously not_, thought James dryly as she tossed the bike into the closest Dumpster. "Hurry up" she urged. Reluctantly James picked up his bike and tossed it away.  
The ticket booth was run by a dumpy looking woman, possibly in her early forties. She flashed Jessi and James a warm smile as they stepped up to the counter. "Two fearow flights to Celadon City please" Jessi asked sweetly  
"Of course dear" the woman babbled as she typed something on her computer. "Aren't you two the cutest couple? You remind me of myself when I was your age"   
The woman bustled off to collect the tickets, quietly reminiscing her early years. Jessi turned to face James raising one eyebrow slightly, which caused him to blush excessively. _Oh great_, Jessi silently moaned;_ now I've stuffed up again_.   
The woman returned and after collecting the money James held out to her, she handed them the tickets to freedom.  
Jessi led James to the fearows they would be riding. Jessi expertly flipped herself onto the closest ones' back. _Oh-oh_, James thought, _I've never flown before. I have no idea how to do it and Jessi appears to be an expert- but then why should I care what she thinks of my_ _inexperience? She's made it painfully clear what she already thinks of me_. James sighed to himself and managed to scramble onto the fearow's back. Jessi commanded that her fearow take off and to James's surprise the pokemon next to him launched itself into the air.   
"Take Off!" he yelled sharply. His mount leant back and ZOOM! The rush of air as his ride took off was incredible- it almost blew him off. He gripped tightly onto the neck and prayed he would not fall. They were about 30 metres above the airfield when Jessi called out to both fearow "Fly to Celadon City!" and, once again, to the shock of James, the two birds obeyed her. _Maybe_, he thought, _being a pokemon trainer wouldn't be as bad as I thought it would, it actually sounds like fun, I guess anyway._   
  
Jessi yawned and tried to appear casual as the wind whipped around her, making her long magenta coloured hair fly back. She had only flown once before but she hoped to be making the impression that she did this often. It was quite obvious that this was the first time James had ever flown; he was clinging for dear life on to the fearow's neck. _The fearows are flying too low_, Jessi thought suddenly.   
"Fearow" she called to both of them "Gain some altitude"   
There was the sensation of moving upwards and then they were up in the clouds. Looking down Jessi could see Fuchsia City. She saw the pokemon zoo and then the Safari Zone. She smiled when she saw her fearow turning right, heading to Celadon when there was a blinding light.  
"AAARGH!" James screamed as this light momentarily blinded him. _The fearows are free falling_, he suddenly realised, _Oh no I'm going to die_.   
The ground rapidly grew nearer to him. Everything was out of control. The wind stung his face as they descended. It's over, James thought with reckless abandon, This is it.   
There was a sickening thud and four screams of pain in separate voices. James heard the cries from somewhere else. He saw his body twisted at an odd angle and then suddenly, without any sensation of movement he was back in his own broken body. "Jessi?" he cried weakly. There was no response. _Oh shit Jessi, was she, could she, is she dead?  
_TO BE CONTINUED...  
  


Love,   
Mew2


	2. Default Chapter Title

LAST TIME...  
Jessi and James left the biker gang and James stole $50,000 from his parents, they went to airport and for some reason the fearows they were riding were blinded and they hurtled towards the ground, crashing heavily. James fears Jessi is dead, but he soon blacks out. What happened? Is Jessi alive? What caused their crash?   
  
DISCLAIMER- I don't own any pokemon characters (but I'd like to!)

!  
WE REALLY WERE CRAZY BACK THEN part 2  
  
James slowly opened his eyes. A handsome male face came into focus. "Wha...?" he managed to utter. His was throat painfully dry. He could feel a dull throbbing in his left leg, and an ache in his right arm. He could taste blood.   
The man smiled at him "Ahh," he said cheerily "The patient awakes"   
James managed a confused look.   
"I'm Dr. Proctor, I've been watching you over the past two days. That must have been some accident you were in. What exactly happened?"  
"J-J-Jez..." James croaked, hoping the doctor could understand he wanted to know where Jessi was.  
"Oh how silly of me!" exclaimed the doctor. He signaled for James to sit up. James's back ached as he propped himself up against the head of the white bed. The doctor offered him a glass of water. He gratefully took it and took a long hard swig. The water burned his parched throat but the more he drank the easier it was.   
He was about to ask for Jessi again when the doctor launched into a speech containing lots of medical jargon James couldn't understand. He only caught on to a few bits of it, like "You'll be on crutches... two months...take...pill..once a day".   
Dr. Proctor paused to let his lecture sink in. Then he said "Oh yes you're parents and your fiancée are here to pick you up. You'll be fine to go home".   
James's heart filled with dread.   
Not knowing whether Jessi was living or not was bad enough in itself, but now having to return home. _Why me?_ He thought.   
"No..." he said, trying to sound determined, but it came out sounding weak and dejected.   
Dr. Proctor mistook his plea for a cry of pain and he handed James a box of tablets. The doctor left to get his parents and Jessibelle.   
James looked down at his battered body. He had a bandage down his right arm. The bandage had a large patch of dried blood on it. His left leg from the calf down had a cast encasing it.   
The white door of his hospital room opened and his mother rushed in.   
"Oh my James" she gushed in her Southern accent.   
His father and Jessibelle entered the antiseptic chamber he lay broken in.   
"We" began his father speaking on behalf of everyone "Are very disappointed in you, James. First you run away from us for five years and to top that off you ran off with a, a, a PEASANT girl"   
James just sat there, shocked,_ Peasant girl_? Then it hit him. _Jessi_. How _dare_ his father call Jessi that?   
"...We will be expecting much better from you in future, my boy" His father continued his tirade, while James became increasingly more worried for Jessi's safety.   
Once his father had finally finished his little speech Jessibelle picked up James's crutches and held them out to him. He painfully slid his broken leg of the bed and then his other leg, He threaded his arms through the arm holes in the expensive looking grey crutches.   
"OW!" he cried as a searing pain ripped through his plastered ankle. He lifted it and with his family by his side he hobbled out to the front desk, where Dr. Proctor was waiting for them. He said the usual about changing the dressing on the bandage often and not putting any weight on the 'acute fracture' of his left leg.   
Then, finally, they left the hospital. His mother opened the limousine door for him and he gingerly sat in the back. As the car took off he craned his neck back to see the name of the hospital he had been at. Saffron City District Hospital. Now he could return at a later date to see Jessi-if she had survived the crash. If she did survive, James thought, she might have already left the hospital by the time I get there. This worried thought was thankfully cut short by his parent's stern warnings for the future. _What is my future without Jessi?_ He asked himself.  
  
It was Christmas time when James could move freely without the crutches. Three months after his accident. _I wonder what I'll get for_ _Christmas this year_, he thought dejectedly. It was Christmas Eve and James felt as though he was wasting away. He'd locked himself in his room a day after his return. He seldom ate and he never spoke. He never left the room.   
He began to think of Jessi. Tomorrow was the day she claimed to have been born on. She always lied about her birthday but James didn't care. It was 10 o' clock at night.   
He lay on the bed and drifted into a heavy uncomfortable sleep. He dreamt that he was standing infront of a glass tank. The glass was impenetrably thick. Inside the tank Jessi was lying, her face pale and her eyes closed. She was dead. James longed to touch her cheek, to stand by her side and pay her his last respects.   
He woke up shivering slightly. Dim light struggled through his curtains and illuminated a pile of presents at his door. He sighed and pulled off the covers and yanked the curtains open. "Ow!" he exclaimed as the light momentarily blinded him. "Happy Birthday Jess" he whispered to the clouds, then he walked slowly to the pile of presents at his door.   
Although he was no longer excited by Christmas or birthdays he thought he owed it to Jessi to try and enjoy something. He tore off the paper. A dark blue suit, new shoes, two new expensive shirts...Nothing he liked. He tore the wrapping off the last gift. It was two pokeballs- Ekans and Koffing. He loved Koffing. But Ekans reminded him too much of Jessi. She used to babble on about Ekans forever as she rode around on her bike- claiming it was her favourite cause she would be able to swing it like her chain. She never owned one but wished she did.   
The Ekans seemed to strengthen James immeasurably. It was a physical tie to Jessi. He placed the two pokeballs onto his belt and took the pokeball he'd left behind all those years ago off his dresser. It contained the bellsprout that he used at school battles when he was a child. He slotted that into his belt as well. _This time_, he thought, _I'm never going to end up back here._ He opened his bedroom window and called out his bellsprout.   
"Vine whip" James commanded quietly. Bellsprout sat on the windowsill and lowered its vines. James was careful not to pull Bellsprout down with him as he made his descent from the second floor. His feet touched the manicured lawn beneath him and he called the grass pokemon back to its pokeball. He rushed to the residence of Growly, his growlithe, and wrapped his arms around the loyal companion. "I must leave you again," James said quietly, fighting back tears. It was so hard the first time. Why must he do it again?   
"Growly I would love to take you with me but you must stay here. I will come back for you. I promise that."   
There was nothing more to be said. James lingered at the door of Growly's oversized kennel and then closed the door; his heart wrenching at the slam it made. It was fairly early, James knew his family was still asleep. Here we go for the third time, the third time I have run away. He jogged quietly to the front gate and then with a quick glance back, he started to run.   
  
James didn't stop running until he reached Cerulean City. He was tired and breathless- but at least he was away from his life. Lucky his house was fairly close to this town, he thought as he rounded the corner.   
There was the Rapidash Transport depot. He walked in and ordered a ride to Saffron. The lady there took the money James had left and directed him to the back of the building where a girl his age was saddling up a rapidash for him. _She's very pretty,_ James thought to himself as he mounted the pokemon. He clung to the girls' waist as she urged the Rapidash forward.   
James enjoyed the feeling of the wind in his hair. He drifted away in his thoughts and didn't really take in any of the beautiful scenery around them. The sharp jolt of the Rapidash stopping outside the hospital jerked him out of his reverie.   
He thanked the girl and dismounted. James tried to remain optimistic as he clambered up the steps of the hospital. The doors slid open and James swept inside. He walked quickly to the receptionist. "Um, Is there a Jessica staying here? She had an accident about three months ago and..."   
The receptionist eyed him from under her thick glasses. "What relation are you to her?" she asked in a nasal voice.   
"I'm her, uh, fiancée" The receptionist nodded and said "There is a Jessica in room 7, but she's 84, this sounds more like it. Jessica, aged fifteen, she is staying in room 8. She's due out today. I think you may have already missed her"   
James was overjoyed. Jessi was alive and as far as he knew, well. Even if he had missed her he could at least rest easy knowing she was alive. He took off down the hallway and stopped at room eight. Jessi was standing next to the bed. She was a mess. Her hair was limp and it hung dead straight, her skin was as white as death, her eyes were faded and bleak. She didn't look like the Jessi he remembered. But even in this state she was still beautiful.   
Jessi stood facing the wall of her hospital room. She felt someone watching her but only thought it was a nurse. She turned to glare at the unwelcome guest but her heart flip-flopped. Standing in the doorway was James. In all the time Jessi had been conscience she had thought of James, fearing for his life. He rushed forward to her and the two exchanged a hug. Jessi held onto James as though she would never let go. He smiled softly and dropped a pokeball on her bed. "It's that Ekans you always wanted"  
"Where were you?" she whispered quietly. James seemed to shudder and he finally answered   
"The doctor called my parents- I- I was with them".   
Jessi was relieved to know he had been all right.   
"What happened to you Jess?".   
Jessi broke away from the embrace and sat down on the bed, indicating James should too. "I had a fractured skull and I was in a coma for about two months, that's what the doctor told me"   
James nodded at her. "I had an acute fracture, whatever that is, in my left leg and a huge gash in my right arm" .   
Jessi wondered what to say next. She longed to say how much she had worried about him during their separation, but such displays of emotion were all but impossible for her. "Where should we go now?" she asked  
"I'll tell you" rasped an unfamiliar voice from the doorway. Jessi and James sharply turned towards the sound.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED...  
What will happen next? Who is the owner of that harsh voice?  
FIND OUT


	3. Default Chapter Title

We really were crazy back then, part 3  
  
Last time...  
James escaped from his family again and arrived at the Saffron City Hospital to find Jessi. The two finally meet up and after a touching reunion a strange voice barks out a mysterious message. Could the owner of the voice have something to do with the crash that almost killed them?  
  
Disclaimer- As you already know I don't own any pokemon characters  
  
*Before you read this I would like to thank everyone who commented on my stories! You guys are totally sweet! Thanx, Mew2   
  
We Really Were Crazy Back Then, part 3- the final chapter  
Jessi and James whipped around to face the one that had spoken. They saw a shadowed man in a red suit with a Meowth by his side. "You two are going to my facility" Jessi glared at this man. "I think you have the wrong room, sir" she sneered. "Now Jessica I know I am in the right room and I think you do too"  
James stayed very quiet. This man had a sort of aura radiating from him; James was scared that if he stepped into it he would be forever changed, forever scarred. Jessi didn't appear to be at all intimidated by the mans' threatening tone of voice. "I have watched you two for a considerable amount of time. At first it was for the price James's family were offering for his return, then I saw you two were both special, just the type of field agents I was looking for. You should be thankful for me being so interested in you". The man paused dramatically. "The cops were almost sure to catch two youths who were on fraud/robbery charges. Lucky for you I covered your tracks or you'd both be behind iron bars". James was shocked to hear this. While he was relieved that this man got the police of his tail he was distressed that the man before them had the kind of power to do that. Jessi was visibly pleased to meet this guy with the sinister manner, obviously excited by the fact someone as seemingly important as the figure in the presence of them had taken interest in their journey.  
"The crash that brought you here was, as you both probably know, not an accident. It was carefully planned by none other than myself" James had been silent before, but now he felt the urge to speak. "You could have KILLED us!" he cried in a shrill voice. "I wouldn't kill such promising young agents now would I?" the shadowed man grinned. Jessi opened her mouth to speak, but the man raised a hand to silence her. "I dislike introductions so I'll make it brief. I am Giovanni. You are to call me Boss. This is Meowth" Giovanni pushed the pokemon forward "He will be your Team mascot". Jessi smiled slyly.  
"And what Team is that?" Giovanni paused to consider how to answer.  
"Team Rocket"  
  
James could not believe it. There he stood in a white uniform, a member of a criminal organization dedicated to the evil use of pokemon when only yesterday he had stood, defeated in his designer suit, believing he would never see Jessi again. Things never turn out the way you expect them to, he thought, remembering how his mother used to always tell him that when he was five years of age. How true that was. He turned and saw Jessi looking drop dead gorgeous in her miniskirt and midriff top. Her hair was bright and her eyes were once again deep blue pools of life. She smiled happily at him. He smiled back. This was the second time that he felt happy enough to cry since he'd met Jessi. She has changed my life so much, James thought, what would I do without her?  
Jessi was so happy in her new Team Rocket life, but she still couldn't work out her feelings for James. They were now work partners so as far as she was concerned that was as far as their relationship would go. No, her mind cried, look at the way he is looking at you now, you want to be with him, you do want to be more than a friend. Jessi broke out in a cold sweat all over her body. Oh shit, she cursed. I can't do this. I admit it. I am too scared. From now on I will maintain nothing more than friendship with James. I'm not ever going to become involved with someone; it's too painful. It brings back my past. I don't want to relive it all over again.  
  
Was this a bit of an anti-climax after the hope and expectation you had for it? That's cause, tighten your seatbelt and don't get up, IT AIN'T OVER YET!  
Why is James so happy?  
What is the secret of Jessi's past?  
  
A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME... COMING SOON!  
  
Authors note- Sorry for this boring ending, my consolation is the third series in the trilogy, which I'm gonna write SOON!  
  
PREVIEW  
3 years in the future  
Giovanni has done the unthinkable- split Jessi and James's team up, as the two were 'getting too close'. Now Jessi is paired with Butch and James with Cassidy. Will Jessi and James's feelings for each other survive? What is Butch's secret? And who is the receptionist that knew about the team swap before it happened?  
  
Does that sound dramatic? If it does stay tuned loyal viewers!  
  
LOVE MEW2!!!!  
  
  
  
  



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